National Affairs: Bills & Barbs

Before leaving for Bolivar, Harry Truman hacked away at the
stack of 263 bills left him by Congress.

He signed most of themthe appropriation bill for foreign aid with
real pleasure. But he seized every possible occasion to aim a fresh shaft at Congress.
He reluctantly approved pay raises of $330 to $450 a year for
1,318,000 federal employees "even though the act meets neither
the needs of the employees nor those of the Government."

In appropriating for TVA, Congress had refused to include $4,000,000 for a
steam generator to backstop TVA's water power in...